CHANNU DUTTA VYAS Vs. SWAMI GYANNANDJI MAHARAJ

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In my opinion this appeal fails in view of the findings of fact arrived at by the Court below.

(2.) The question for decision was whether the Hindu population of Benares, represented by the defendant-appellant, had acquired a customary right to use the property of the plaintiff for the celebration of the Ram Lila festival. It was alleged that the Hindus had a right to enter on these premises for a period of three days during the Ram Lila and to occupy them for the purpose of giving a dramatic representation of certain incidents in the life of Rama.

(3.) The plaintiff in the suit purchased this property in the year 1922 from Gopal Das, Raghunandan Prasad and others in whose family it had been since the year 1854. This property consists of a garden enclosed by walls and inside the enclosure is a large garden-house consisting of a hall and some smaller rooms.